Ron Paul finally wins one — sort of

Texas Rep. Ron Paul finally has won a contest in the Republican presidential nomination battle after a weekend victory in the Virgin Islands caucuses.

His 112 votes in a presidential straw poll topped Mitt Romney’s 101 and easily outdistanced Rick Santorum’s 23 votes and Newt Gingrich’s 18. Another 130 voters said they weren’t committing to any of the candidates in the straw poll.

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But Mr. Paul’s victory still didn’t translate into a win where it counts — in the chase for delegates to the GOP’s nominating convention in Tampa, Fla., in August.

The Republican Party of the Virgin Islands said Mr. Romney won seven of the territory’s nine delegates, while Mr. Paul won just one. Another delegate remains uncommitted.

Mr. Paul has banked his entire campaign strategy on doing better in the delegate fight than he does in the popular vote. But so far, he has failed to capitalize on that strategy, and the results in the Virgin Islands suggest he has difficulty winning delegates even when he wins the straw poll vote.